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30 August 2009

Banyan Tree

Banyan (Nuga) trees are kind of nature’s wonder to me. The large numbers of aerial roots which are coming down from the branches grow into thick trunks later on. An older banyan tree would have hundreds of such smaller trunks all around the main trunk.

An old banyan tree is a photographer’s delight and this particular photo was taken near the famous Thalawila Church in the North Western Province (Wayamba) of Sri Lanka.

Clo,Reunion island - Is it the one East of Madagascar?Usually Banyan's are quite abundant in theIndian subcontinent – Infact, it is called the Indian fig tree. May be you have seen the same tree in the island too.Thanks for sharing your experience!

Alvaro,It is very curious tree :) I do not think Banyan trees are in Spain. Usually it is grown in the tropics.

Michelle,Yep, there are even more interesting trees of this type. The one in the photograph above is not an old one. Older trees will be more interesting with huge trunks with massive amounts of sub sub trunks :)

Rainfield,Yes, infact when you see it from different angles you see different shapes. :)

Betsy,Glad to hear you have seen one. Is it in US?I'll try to add even better trees in the future!

George,Yep, I have seen very interesting ones as well. Some are grown to the extent of completely covering man made structures like walls, small buildings etc..with its sub trunks.

Betchai,Indeed they are quite spooky. The aerial roots really add a sinister look to the tree!

Hi Lakpathy,Thanks for dropping by. You may be correct if you say Sri Maha bodhi is the oldest 'fig' tree that has a recorded history. Banyan tree (ficus benghalensis) and Bo trees (Sacred Fig - ficus religiosa) are related and they both belong to the same genus 'ficus'

Chavie,There are even better trees around Colombo too. There is a huge one at Park road.

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